Texas GOP Leadership Could be Implicated in a Felony Bribery Scandal
Jose Nino
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The drama in the Lone Star State continues as House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and State Representative Dustin Burrows are now being implicated in an alleged bribery attempt.
BLP covered a report about conservative grassroots activist Michael Quinn Sullivan recording a meeting with Burrows and Bonnen, in which they offered Quinn Sullivan’s group media credentials in exchange for targeting 10 Republicans.
State Representative Steve Toth told the Texas Tribune, “What I derived from the audio tape — it’s very clear — is that Speaker Bonnen was not truthful about a list not being provided.”
He claims that the recording reveals the list of ten Republican House members that Bonnen wants to target and that the scheme was “referenced, over and over, and over again. Multiple times.”
Toth admits that Bonnen’s actions caught him off guard. He told the Texas Tribune “I have been a supporter of the speaker since day one.” Toth added, “I love Dennis. I didn’t believe any of this. I was shocked. I am discouraged to see the light it put him in and the light it put on the Republican Party.”
Bob Price reports that Toth was alongside State Representative Travis Clardy Wednesday night after Quinn presented the evidence to back his allegation that Bonnen and Burrows “offered a quid pro quo of House Floor media credentials in exchange for political expenditures against the targeted members.”
Clardy declared that the details from the recording were the “most disappointing thing[s] I’ve ever seen” in his four terms as State Representative, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News.
“They (disparaging comments about Republican and Democrat House members from Bonnen and Burrows) were made flippantly and they were disrespectful,” Clardy said.
Breitbart Texas legal analyst Lana Shadwick says that “The Texas Penal Code, Section 36.02, provides that a person commits an offense of bribery if they offer or confer an official action in exchange for something of value.”
She added, “In this case, Speaker Bonnen and Rep. Burrows are accused of offering to convey official press credentials from the Texas House in exchange for political action and expenditures by Sullivan’s political action group.”
The legal analyst also detailed what kind of criminal punishment Bonnen and Burrows could face if convicted:
“If charged and convicted under this statute, a second-degree felony, Bonnen and Burrows could each face between two and 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.”
Outgoing State Representative and liberty conservative Jonathan Stickland also listened to the recording and expressed his dismay with these revelations. Stickland declared, “Texas deserves truth, honesty and a better moral compass than Bonnen is giving us.”
BLP reported that Stickland had choice words for Republican leadership during one leg of his Farewell Tour in Arlington, Texas.
Now, it appears that the former representative is on to something.
It’s become clear that the Texas GOP has become complacent with Texas’ relative freedoms in areas such as gun rights and business freedom.
However, political dynamics are changing in the Lone Star State.
With Democrats emboldened after their 2018 performances and an internally corrupt GOP, 2020 may not look so good for the Texas GOP.
It will need to get its act together, or the GOP will eventually meet repeated defeats throughout the 2020s if they don’t get back on course.
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